1. Technical Field
The present invention is directed to garment hangers for storing, transporting and displaying articles of clothing. The present invention is specifically directed to garment hangers for multiple garments.
2. Background Information
Garment hangers commonly comprise two connected shoulder bars with a hanging hook located between the shoulder bars, where the shoulder bars extend outward and down from the hook and simulate the shape or breadth of human shoulders. This style of hanger is used for coats, jackets, shirts and similar articles of clothing worn on the upper torso. A well known variation comprises the two shoulder bars and a cross bar connecting the outwardly extending ends of the shoulder bars, forming a triangle. The connecting cross bar may be of the same or different material as the shoulder bars, and serves the additional purpose of hanging different articles of clothing. In this fashion, the triangular hanger is more versatile than the two shoulder bar hanger. The triangular frame is often used for displaying, transporting and storing a wide variety of clothing, including those previously mentioned, as well as pants, skirts, other lower torso garments, and accessories such as ties, scarves and belts.
In order to maintain the appearance of the garment, garment hangers usually present the supported garment in a plane, where the folds and creases of the garment are preserved. This is achieved by a plane formed by the hanger itself. For storage purposes, the plane of existing garment hangers is usually as flat as possible to allow the hung garments to occupy as little space as possible.
Most garment hangers have an attached hook or other retaining means as is well known in the art for removably mounting the hanger on a rod or other support means. This retaining means is centrally located on the hanger and is attached either at the apex of the triangular shaped frame or between the two shoulder bars. The retaining means is normally located at a central point to allow the hanger to be balanced when laden and unladen. The plane formed by the hanger is usually perpendicular to the rod or other support means, however it is known in the art to allow the retaining means to rotate relative to the plane formed by the hanger.
Alternative and more specialized display, transportation and storage devices exist for specific types of clothing and for use in the fashion industry. Among these specialized devices are fixed display stands which are used instead of mannequins to show the approximate appearance of clothing on a person and hangers for fashion accessories such as belts and scarves.
Most prior art garment hangers which provide for displaying, transporting and storing multiple articles of clothing provide a fixed relationship in the location of upper and lower garment support means, placing the lower garment support means directly beneath, and within the same plane as, the upper garment support means when the hanger is supported by the retaining means. In this relationship, the upper garment covers the lower garment. This presents a problem and an inconvenience in the removal of the lower garment which is covered in full or in part by the upper garment.
When using the triangular hanger for clothing combinations such as a man's or woman's suit, comprising an upper garment, such as a jacket, and a lower garment, such as pants or a skirt, it is often desired to remove the lower garment from the hanger before removing and without disturbing the upper garment. With conventional hangers, removing the lower garment without disturbing the upper garment is not easily achieved and may be impossible. Dislodging the upper garment may cause the upper garment to fall on the floor or cause the upper garment to become wrinkled or disarrayed. Mishandling or dropping of the upper garment, while attempting to remove the lower garment, can damage or wrinkle delicate fabrics. Therefore, it is desired to have an improved hanger that will allow easier removal of the lower garment before removing and without disturbing the upper garment.
When a complete suit or other clothing combination is displayed on a conventional hanger, the upper garment is in full view of the intended audience, while the lower garment is substantially or entirely hidden by the upper garment. Quite Often the lower garment is of a different pattern or material from the upper garment and this difference may be a significant factor in a prospective purchaser's decision to buy the clothing. It is therefore desired to have an improved hanger that will allow the simultaneously display of both the upper and lower garments.
Generally in the past, garment hangers have been constructed with nonadjustable garment support members, also known as drops. The existing drops, which have been used for specific purposes, are too short to adequately address the problem of viewing or removing the lower garment without disturbing the upper garment. A hanger that is sufficiently elongated to separate the garment support members such that the lower garment may be viewed or removed easily is desired.
Conventional garment hangers are designed to minimize the space occupied in a closet, thereby designed to occupy a narrow plane, which is often perpendicular to the rod or other support means. In accord with this purpose, existing drops locate the lower garment directly below the upper garment.
Existing hangers and garment display devices create and otherwise do not address the problems described. Prior art hangers that incorporate extensions, such as Chen U.S. Pat. No. 5,082,152 and Bell U.S. Pat. No. 2,574,999, are directed toward adjusting the width of the hanger, specifically in varying the width of the shoulder portion of the garment hanger, by extending the length of the shoulder portion segments. These hangers however only maintain the shape of upper torso garments such as jackets and shirts which vary in breadth. No provision is made, nor is there a need, for adjustment relative to the length of the upper torso garment. Prior art hangers, such as Doose U.S. Pat. No. 1,070,236, while showing extendible hangers, do not show extensions outside of the plane of the upper garment support means nor do they provide fixed size support for lower torso garments.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a garment hanger adapted to hold multiple articles of clothing in an adjustable relationship.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide an improved hanger which will suspend articles of clothing with sufficient horizontal and vertical separation for convenient display and access. The horizontal separation distance need only be sufficient to separate the upper and lower garments, placing the lower garment in front or in back of the plane of the upper garment. A desired vertical separation distance between the upper and lower garments may be determined from the height of the upper garment, where the lower garment is desired to hang at or below the level of the bottom edge of the upper garment.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an improved hanger that will readily allow removal of pants, skirts or similar articles from the hanger prior to the removal of coats, jackets and the like from the hanger.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an improved hanger that will allow for the improved display of multiple articles of clothing, revealing articles that are concealed using existing and previously known hangers.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more evident from the following discussion and drawings in which: